At nineteen he resolved to become a sculptor and studied under Zuiun Yamamoto. He learned traditional wood carving and showed Buddhist sculpture at the government exhibitions. Member of the Japan Art Academy, 1963; Order of Culture, 1979. In 1983 the Tanimura Art Museum, which shows his work, opened at Itoigawa; among the pieces there is the “Kongo-o Bosatsu”, made and consecrated at Koyasan in 1968.